Exclusive: Graham Platner Signals Peace with Schumer in Maine Senate Fight

Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for Maine, confirmed in an interview he'd spoken to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and plans to work with the party establishment-with conditions.

Schumer and the DSCC, which is headed by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, all endorsed primary opponent Governor Janet Mills, who was viewed as a marquee recruit. As Platner began pulling ahead of Mils in the race, her campaign released an ad where several women spoke against Platner due to controversial remarks he'd made online.

Speaking with Newsweek at an AFL-CIO endorsement event in Portland, Platner said he'd made peace with Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, who'd backed his primary opponent Governor Janet Mills, saying:

"Last night, I spoke with Senator Schumer, called me and congratulated me on a well-run race, and I said, ‘thank you very much,'" he said. "It is rather amazing how wanting to defeat Susan Collins can really bring a lot of people together. We can find a lot of common ground, and I’m a big fan of finding common ground these days, and I think that that we’re gonna be able to do that."

He did not go into details about the extent he discussed campaign tactics with Schumer and said that as of that morning, he still had not spoken with Mills.

Schumer and the DSCC, which is headed by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, all endorsed primary opponent, Governor Janet Mills, who they viewed as a marquee recruit. As Platner began pulling ahead of Mils in the race, her campaign released an ad where several women spoke against Platner due to controversial remarks he'd made online.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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This story was originally published May 1, 2026 at 11:43 AM.